Celtic Odyssey

Most loving Father-Mother, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast all our care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Child Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

O God, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is the true bond of peace and of all virtue. Grant this for the sake of your only Child Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

O God, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayer; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of you grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Are you interested in getting a new computer? Are you wanting to try Ubuntu (and why wouldn't you?!)? Well, have no fear! Ubuntu released their Certified Hardware page on their site! It shows different Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), along with various hardware components (video cards, wireless cards, web cameras, etc. The site breaks it down so you can find a desktop, laptop, netbook, or server and which version of Ubuntu works with which hardware. So, if you in the market for a new system, and your interested in giving Ubuntu a spin, I recommend using that list as a guide. ~~~ In the Love of the Three in One, Jack +, LC

A great interview about Food for the Hungry and Ubuntu can be found here .

Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Child our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Or, why Open Source Software is vital for moving forward as a global community. As anyone knows who has been reading the blog (or the old one for that matter), I am very passionate about Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). But why is this? How did I get here and why do I think it’s critical for our future? Since i have blogged about this history before , I won’t go into the details here. Let me just say that it was because of Mac OS X that I ventured into the world of Open Source Software and stayed there, like any new relationship, after a few minor hiccups. I started testing Ubuntu around October 2007 and starting using it regularly the following year. And by regularly, I mean that I no longer used any other Operating System (OS). Ubuntu was the only personal computer OS I used. This also means that I have used about 8 different releases (I am currently dual-booting between the latest release - 10.10 - and the Alpha release of 11.04). But, again, why ? I have been thinking

‘But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father-Mother in private. Then your Father-Mother, who sees everything, will reward you.’ - Jesus This is the basis for this month’s reflection, Open Mind, Open Heart , by Fr Thomas Keating. It was quite an interesting read with plenty of great practical guidance on centering prayer. I won’t go into much detail about the practical but will, instead, focus on the experiential part of the book. For if ‘centering prayer’ is anything, it is experiential. This book is about leading the follower of Jesus into the tradition of contemplation through the tool of centering prayer. For years, especially here in the US, contemplation and meditation have been looked down upon. It has been seen as an ‘Eastern’, non-Christian, even demonic, practice with which the true Christian has no business. However, this has not always been the case. For almost the entire history of the Church, contemplation an